Ben Garner confident Charlton are in fine fettle ahead of League One kick-off at Accrington

Ben Garner has described his Charlton Athletic squad as being “in a good place” ahead of their League One opener at Accrington Stanley this weekend.

The match at Wham Stadium will be the former Crystal Palace coach’s first competitive fixture in charge of the SE7 club.

Asked if it could take time for his footballing philosophy to bed in and that might require patience, Garner told the South London Press: “It’s not going to be perfect from day one, by any stretch, but we’ve done an incredible amount of work through pre-season, both players and staff.

“I think we’re in a good place to start the season, now we want to win games as quickly as we can, without any shadow of doubt. If we don’t win the first game then we’ll be looking to win the next. At the moment our pure focus is Accrington and three points. We are not going there to draw, we’re going there to try and win the game.

“It’s a tough league and every game poses a challenge. It is a physically demanding league. It is about appreciating Accrington’s strengths and doing our best to nullify them and impose ourselves – what are our strengths and abilities? If we can and win at Accrington then it is a great start for us.”

Seven hundred away tickets had already been bought earlier this week for the match in Lancashire with the club tweeting the target was to break the four-figure mark.

“I really value any supporter that travels , spending your hard-earned money to travel and support the team will always get my full respect and admiration,” said Garner. “I’ll always show that at the end of a game – win, lose or draw.

“The fans are the lifeblood of the game, we wouldn’t be where we are without them. I want us to give everything for them in every single minute of every single game. Hopefully we’ll have lots of away games where they go away happy.”

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD